Month: October 2014

Mayor Buddy Dyer was the guest of honor this week aboard a zero-emission electric passenger bus during its Orlando tour stop. The Catalyst, a 40-passenger battery-electric bus manufactured by Proterra, picked up the mayor and several of his staff at City Hall for a quick trip around downtown Orlando. The Central Florida stop was one of only a few remaining demonstrations taking place on its way back home to Greenville, SC after a cross-country tour.

A fully-functional trial version of EnergyGauge is available at EnergyGauge.com. A $100 discount per user license is available until 12/20/2014.

Commercial construction companies have a new tool to help their clients build LEED® certified buildings faster and more efficiently thanks to the University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center® (FSEC®).

FSEC® released the EnergyGauge® Summit Premier 5.00 software at this year’s Greenbuild conference in New Orleans. The conference is the premier event for sustainable building in the United States and draws thousands to learn about the latest technology and techniques. FSEC’s state-of-the-art software provides construction-industry professionals with the opportunity to substantially reduce the time required to complete energy modeling for the commercial construction LEED® rating system and code compliance using ASHRAE 90.1 or IECC.

Summer is nice and hot, and wet. We build enclosures to keep us at a comfortable 55 degree dewpoint temperature (typically 75F and 50%RH). Florida has an outside dewpoint temperature that is in the low 70s during the summer (and after a rain – shoots up to where the temperature and dewpoint temperature are nearly identical). It is all about the dewpoint – when do things start sweating. Buildings don’t sweat like people do, but they most certainly can have condensation problems. Consider that nice glass of ice tea sitting on the patio table – yep it is condensation on the exterior of that glass. (Dewpoint temperature is that special temperature when water in the vapor form turns into water in the liquid form. It is a relative humidity of 100%.) It is OK on my glass, but not so much in my wall assembly. That can lead to “green buildings”; the one that no one likes except maybe lawyers and building forensic guys. So understanding dewpoint temperature is important when we design and modify our buildings.

Checklists are an essential tool when documenting for quality assurance.

Quality Assurance (QA) is not for the weak stomached any longer.

With all of the RESNET changes, and the changes that are on the horizon, QA has become one of the items that are priority at RESNET and with the builders that home energy raters are servicing. Documenting all of the homes with checklists and field review of both HERS Index Scored Homes and ENERGY STAR Homes is imperative.

When doing your final inspection, in addition to your blower door and duct testing, you should be checking the following and documenting with pictures:

The following notice does not apply to solar electric (photovoltaic – PV) systems that provide electrical power to air-conditioning systems.

Consumer Warning!

Products currently being marketed in Florida as “Solar Air Conditioners” or “Solar Assisted Air Conditioners” using solar heating collectors have not been certified by the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC). These products feature a solar heating collector within a conventional air conditioning system. FSEC has not tested or validated the claim that the solar heating collectors enhance air-conditioning performance.

Consumers are advised to consult an income tax professional regarding any federal income tax credit claims. Qualified residential solar systems are defined in §25D(d) of Title 26 of the U.S. Code.

The DOE Zero Energy Ready Home Leading Builders awards are presented to builders who are changing the way homes are designed and constructed.

Southeast Volusia Habitat for Humanity and Habitat for Humanity of South Sarasota County—affordable housing partners of the University of Central Florida’s FSEC—were the honored recipients of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Zero Energy Ready Home Leading Affordable Builders awards in September. A total of 28 industry leaders (including six affordable builders) were recognized at the 2014 Housing Innovation Award ceremony at EEBA’s Excellence in Building Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. DOE Housing Innovation Awards acknowledge the outstanding efforts of contractors and builders to design and construct high performance, zero energy ready homes.

Energy efficiency, comfort, and durability are key components of DOE Zero Energy Ready Homes. To qualify for this certification, homes must meet stringent requirements in seven categories. To reduce energy consumption and resulting energy costs, these high performance homes must achieve a very low score on the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index. The closer the score is to zero, the less energy is needed to run the home.